


Blame the knights

by sparklespiff



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-16
Updated: 2011-03-16
Packaged: 2017-10-17 07:38:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/174474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklespiff/pseuds/sparklespiff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the <a href="http://marguerite-26.livejournal.com/515440.html">make them do it! comment fest</a>-- Horny knights make them do it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blame the knights

By the time Gwaine “drunkenly stumbles” into Merlin the sixteenth time, Arthur has had quite enough. Every single one of his knights gazing longingly at Guinevere is one thing—the knights are as moths to her lavender-wearing cleavage-y flame and all—but propositioning his manservant is _quite another_.

Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan have each separately asked Merlin if they can stay in his room because they don’t have anywhere to sleep, even though Arthur has ordered space made for them in the barracks. He’d delegated the task to Leon, and Leon always carries out orders perfectly. And yet they have all approached Merlin, and Arthur knows not because he was spying on his manservant or anything weird like that but because a knight is ever vigilant, and he is the best knight in Camelot and vigilance includes listening to anything any of his knights say to his manservant. _His_ manservant. Elyan has his _own house_. It’s all quite ridiculous.

Still, just in case his knights simply weren’t aware of their lodgings, Arthur shows them personally to their rooms. That’s the end of them trying to sleep in Merlin’s ridiculous closet of a bedroom, but one day after practice, Arthur turns around to see Percival walking up to Merlin, offering to help him with something, “Anything, Merlin, really. Anything you need. Anything at all.” And Merlin just smiles his idiot smile at Percival, which really is just _encouraging_ him, and Arthur realizes he’s going to have to talk to Merlin, explain to him why this sort of behavior is not acceptable.

“So you’re telling me that I’m not supposed to smile at the knights,” Merlin says, in that voice that sounds completely guileless but really means he thinks Arthur is an idiot, even though Arthur is his prince and deserving of respect and really, Merlin is just the worst servant in the world.

“So you’ve said,” Merlin says, and then he starts to smile before stopping and looking at Arthur all big-eyed instead. “Oh, right. You’re a knight, and I’m not supposed to smile at knights. Sorry.”

Arthur really can’t be held responsible for his behavior after that.

Once they’re done, and lying together in Arthur’s big, comfortable bed, so much better than Merlin’s poor excuse for a cot in his poor excuse for a room—he ought to tell Merlin to sleep with Arthur, for Merlin’s own good—he tells Merlin to stop flirting with the knights. Merlin looks at Arthur like he’s got no idea what Arthur’s talking about, and Arthur takes it in stride like the very reasonable human being he is and tells all the knights at practice the next day that there will be no more hitting on Merlin, and also no speaking of this ever again. All the knights look at him with innocent faces—which is a frightening look on Gwaine, actually—and Leon coughs and says, “Uh, we have no idea what you’re talking about, Sire,” and Arthur says, “Exactly,” and considers it a job well done.


End file.
